TRIBUTES FOR REV. KOLA ON HIS 60th BIRTHDAY

14 Dec TRIBUTES FOR REV. KOLA ON HIS 60th BIRTHDAY

OCTOBER 2021

TRIBUTES FROM FOWM FRIENDS & PARTNERS

We celebrate God’s gift packaged in the person of Rev. Kola. He is truly a great man of God and I am a direct beneficiary of the grace and the anointing of God that is upon his life. I met him back in 1987 when he came to plant a church in Kano, Nigeria and since then his life, marriage, and ministry have been an inspiration to me.

He has taught the Word faithfully over these many years and lived it. He set an example for us on what it takes to follow and live for Christ. Personally, he taught me about how to obtain and exercise faith in the Lord and how to navigate in wisdom through the storms of life.

Rev., we rejoice with you on this occasion and pray that the Lord will continue to bestow more grace upon you and Rev. Funke so you can continue to bless God’s people and create forums where God’s people can flow with him in understanding.

Pastor Kenny Ogunfunmi (Rejoyce Christian Centre, California)

Pastor Kola is a great friend, a dynamic leader with a wonderful apostolic call, a devoted husband and father, and a great laugh!

I met Pastor Kola in the year 2000 via his cousin, my associate Pastor, Temi Ewuosho. Since that meeting, our times of fellowship together have been heart-warming, encouraging and edifying. Our entire ministry is continually uplifted by his regular ministration at Harvest Church, Wembley. The affinity and harmony between us is reflected in the common bond of love and fellowship both ministries enjoy at each other’s functions, conferences and meetings. We continually encourage one another and steal each others’ best ideas!

We are so grateful for such great people down the road in Medina (my affectionate name for Virginia Water!) and thank God continually for the lives of Pastors Kola and Funke. They are true agents of breakthrough in so many arenas and we look forward to many more years of blessing.

Pastor Paul Naughton (Harvest Church,  London, UK)

SIX DECADES OF WISDOM AND GRACE!

This is a birthday and love tribute to a father in the faith. I join the countless lives to wish you a hearty 60th birthday. You have been and still are a loving, caring and supportive father in the Lord and the faith. I will never forget how God connected me to you in 1989 through a cassette tape with the title, “The Authority of the Believer”. After listening to that message, the next day the Holy Spirit told me to call the number provided. I remember when I called you, you were gracious enough to speak to me and warmly receive me; this was the beginning of a father-son relationship that has spanned over 32 years. All these years you have loved, taught, rebuked, disciplined and most importantly, showed me by character and conduct what it means to know and follow Christ as a believer and a minister. You have loved me through thick and thin. In crisis, you stood as a pillar of fatherly love and support. Through your exemplary character and conduct, you have shown me your doctrine, wisdom, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience and persecution. You are a father who is never ashamed of his son; he loves me in spite of my mistakes. Thank you!

Today on behalf of my family and the Refuge House Church, we wish you a glorious diamond jubilee. May you continue to grow from strength to strength. The Lord will continue to uphold you and all that concerns you. Happy birthday Sir.

Pastor Roland Akporiaye (Refuge House Church, Port Harcourt)

Having been a spiritual son to Rev. Kola for several years now, I have come to understand the heart of Servant Leadership in so many ways.

Rev. Kola has been and continues to be an epitome of what it takes to be a successful leader especially in ministry and I am proud to have him as my spiritual father and mentor.

Despite his very busy and tight schedule, he still finds time to reach out to me, wanting to know how I’m faring personally and in the ministry; and I know this is also the testimony of all his other spiritual sons around the globe.

Your spirit of excellence in ministry will continue to be a model for us all to keep following after.

I celebrate you sir on your 60th and know that you haven’t seen anything yet.

The next 40 years of your life will be lived in the glory and manifestations of God’s faithfulness over your life, home and ministry.

We continue to partake of the apostolic grace upon your life and ministry sir; I can see the impact taking root in my life and ministry as we see God take us from grace to grace.

I pray the Lord keep you sir in good health and continue to renew your youth like the eagles.

Happy birthday and many happy returns of the day sir.

Pastor Ishola Familusi (RockChurch, Kent, UK)

I first came to know about Rev. Kola Ewuosho sometime in 1992 when one of my roommates at College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL) (while I was studying physiotherapy), brought a tape to the room and played 90+ minutes message that the Rev. had preached to Loveward Fellowship of CMUL at the time. I was awestruck at the richness and the excellency of the voice as well as the message preached from just three verses, John 1:1-3.

From that one message I heard in 1992, I continue to know that nothing is made to last unless it is made by the Word of God. Here I am today: it was under Rev. Kola’s ministry that I got married to my wife who similarly was led to the ministry same year as I was (1994). We had both been brought by God to serve the ministry.

Rev. Kola, or Daddy, as we fondly call him, has been a tremendous blessing to the Body of Christ. The impact of God’s grace, the wisdom, revelations, knowledge and understanding of the scriptures, and allowing the Word of God to explain our life’s story, and reshape our crooked pathways is profound, and unusual. One of the most evergreen themes I learnt from Rev. Kola’s ministry is found in Psalm 11:3; “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?”. Rev. Kola taught us that whenever a scripture verse asks a question, and there was no answer, believers are to find the answer(s). So, Rev. Kola, taught us that the answer to that verse of scripture is “….the righteous should build a fresh or new foundation on the Word of God”. We learnt to build a new foundation and build up our lives based on Jesus’ parable about the wise versus foolish builder; digging deep, and building on the rock (the Word of God, Christ Himself), so that when the flood and the storms of life come, whatever we build on Christ the solid rock, will stand (Matthew 7:24-29).

Papa, Daddy, Father, and Reverend Gentleman, and most importantly, our own Man of God, we salute, and celebrate you today sir! We pray that as your days are, so shall your strength be (Deuteronomy 33:25). You will continue to grow from one level of glory to the other as you behold His face (2 Corinthians 3:18). As constantly prophesied when we were in Kano, your seed shall continually multiply, and spread abroad (Genesis 28:14). May the Lord continually surround you with the songs of deliverance, and may He ever remain your Rock and Hiding Place (Psalm 32:7). May the Lord bless and keep you, cause His face to continually shine upon you, and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26). May the Lord grant all the desires of your heart, even as you delight yourself in Him always (Psalm 37:4). We pray blessings upon blessings, and a million fold returns of all the seed you have sown in the lives of sons and daughters all over the world. May you see you children’s children, and fulfil your purpose on earth, for God and His Kingdom. May the next phase of life you are entering at 60, become a phase of rest, tremendous and bountiful harvests of seed sown, and may you wax stronger and stronger, and may the Lord multiply your influence in the land and in His presence (Genesis 26:12-14).

We celebrate you sir.

Your son in the Lord

Emmanuel Babatunde John

Happy 60th birthday Daddy. I came to know you as a university student, when you preached at a conference my campus fellowship held. You brought life to the Word of God in a different way, and it was truly refreshing. A couple of years later, it was not difficult for me to say yes to an invitation by Pastor Bisi Ilori, to attend your church at Word of Faith Christian Center (WOFCC) Kano branch, when I came to Kano State to do my NYSC.

I developed a deeper relationship with the Word as your teachings brought many things to life. I was also privileged to live with the family and got to experience the practical aspect of what it truly means to live by the Word. I watched both you and my mother in the Lord (Maami) uphold the Word in every situation. This made an indelible mark in my life and set the course for me to do the same. The commitment you both demonstrated in your marriage created a desire in me to pray for a Christ-centered marriage.

I am forever grateful for your life Dad. I pray that you will continue to reap many bountiful harvests because of the seeds you have sown in my life and in the lives of many. May you and the generations after you never lack anything good in Jesus’ Name. May you experience the fullness of all that God has for you as you are ushered into this new decade. May your light never go down and may your oil never run dry in Jesus’ Name. Thank you for the mighty impact Dad, you are truly a gift to the Body of Christ. Happy 60th Birthday sir!

Toyin John

Reverend Kola – An Exemplary Leader

I recall with joy my first encounter with Rev. Kola Ewuosho. The day was Sunday 4th June 1995. This was my first Sunday at the WOFCC, Kano. There, I met a man of the Word and wisdom. I remember being astonished by the level and frequency of godly wisdom that proceeded from Rev. Kola as he ministered. Indeed, those wisdom nuggets were neither enticing words of men nor theoretical jargons as I was fixated on many from day ONE! I have learned consistently under Rev. Kola’s visionary leadership, spiritual guidance and mentorship over the past 26 years. I have been guided over the years by an understanding that godly wisdom transcends the realms of human understanding. Its transformative power influences the way I see and confer stability and strength of various dimensions upon my life. Through Rev. Kola’s positive influence, I have embraced regular mind deprogramming and reprogramming processes by the Word; allowing godly wisdom to permeate every sphere of my life, especially in marriage, ministry and the market place. My spiritual father and mentor is a man of integrity who places a high premium on character development, diligence, and excellence. Rev. Kola is a selfless leader, an embodiment of courage and charisma with result-producing, ‘stick-to-it-ive’ attitude. He is completely sold out to God! What a high privilege and distinct honour to learn from this servant of the Most-High! Sir, as you celebrate this milestone, may you step into new graces for your next phase in ministry. Happy 60th Birthday!

Dr Victor Ola-Akande